A fascinating glimpse into maritime superstition has emerged from HMS Victory, as six 19th-century coins and tokens were unearthed beneath the warship’s foremast.
The discovery came during the latest phase of a decade-long, £42 million restoration, which saw a 750-tonne crane meticulously remove the mizzen, foremast, and bowsprit from Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s iconic flagship at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Conservationists made the find after the masts were lifted, revealing the coins, which were traditionally placed there to bestow good fortune upon the vessel and its crew.
Andrew Baines, executive director of museum operations at Royal Navy Museums, said: “We are incredibly excited to have discovered six coins beneath the fore lower mast of HMS Victory. This find connects us directly to a maritime tradition stretching back thousands of years.
“The placing of coins beneath a ship’s mast has long been seen as a symbolic act, often associated with protection and good fortune for the vessel and her crew.
“Following the earlier discovery of a single farthing beneath the main lower mast, we had hoped there might be something similar beneath the foremast. But to uncover six coins was an extraordinary surprise.”
Five of the coins date to the period when the foremast was stepped in 1894, when the ship’s original wooden masts were replaced with wrought iron versions.
The sixth coin has been identified as a token from Prince Edward Island, Canada, dated to 1835 with an image of a ship stamped on it.
Mr Baines said: “The 1835 Prince Edward Island token is one of the most intriguing finds. Its inscription, ‘Ships, Colonies and Commerce’ – a slogan closely associated with the maritime and imperial trade networks of the 19th century – reflects the world in which HMS Victory served and suggests these coins may have been chosen for symbolic as well as practical reasons.
“We cannot yet say why this particular token was selected, but its presence beneath the foremast adds another layer to the story.
“Hidden from view for more than a century, these objects nevertheless speak directly to the people who cared for Victory and the traditions they chose to continue.”
Karoline Sofie Hennum, conservator on HMS Victory, said that all of the coins had been heavily degraded from the prolonged pressure of the 50 tonnes of mast, along with corrosion from the 132 years since they were placed there.
She said: “To unlock the secrets of the coins covered up by decades of corrosion, they needed to be removed from the base plate, cleaned and X-rayed.
“Luckily, overall, the condition of the coins was good, and they came away from the base easily.
“Then using a microscope, we carefully cleaned them with brushes, wooden skewers and tweezers, bringing more information to light.
“Finally, using a technique called X-radiography, we could see beneath the corrosion revealing both sides of the coin in one image.”
The five coins are three one penny pieces featuring a “bun head” portrait of Queen Victoria, two of which dated to 1890 and one to 1892, with a halfpenny dated to 1890, along with a farthing dated to 1882.
They will go on display from May 23 in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
HMS Victory, which is the world’s oldest commissioned warship, was Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar and it was on the ship’s quarterdeck that he was fatally shot by a French sniper on October 21 1805.
Victory was first floated out at Chatham in 1765 but by the 1920s was in poor condition and moved to dry dock in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 1922.
A scaffolding structure will now enclose the ship and remain in place until the conservation work is completed in 2033.
